Essentials by Ellen Holiday 2015 Release Hop!

Click HERE for the Latina Blog Hop!

Hello, and welcome to the Essentials by Ellen Holiday 2015 Release Hop! I’ll be showcasing several of the new stamp sets and dies on my post today!  You should have arrived from the Super Talented Laura Sterckx's blog!  If not, you'll want to start at the beginning of the hop which is the CLASSroom!  If you get lost along the way, I have a complete hop listing at the end of my blog post.

And, yay!!! I also get to give this new stamp set, called Mistletoe & Holly to a lucky someone!  Please leave a comment to enter my giveaway!

There is also a Grand Giveaway in the CLASSroom!  To enter, be sure to leave a comment there, and at every stop along the hop by August 11th, 2015, winners will be announced by the weekend!  ***Remember to make sure that you have the no-reply blogger option turned off OR leave me your contact information in the comment***  You have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be selected.

My first project features the New Got Candy? stamps and coordinating dies!

Let's get to it, eh?!  

cardstock:  solar white/110, bazzill marshmallow  stamps:  essentials by ellen/got candy?  ink:  ranger archival black  other:  essentials by ellen/got candy? dies, kuretake gansai tambi, mft peek a boo trio, mft pinking circles

Pumpkins, Bats & Stars...Oh My!  I had fun putting together this card!  I stamped the stars in Hero Arts Ombre Gray to Black ink.  The pumpkins have been stamped with Ranger Archival Black.  I used the coordinating Got Candy? dies and watercolored them with Kuretake Gansai Tambi.  The Boo sentiment has been watercolored with orange and yellow (think candy corn!) and the MFT Peek A Boo Trio has also been watercolored!  Did you know that you can use Bazzill Marshmallow to watercolor?!

Neenah Cardstock, Neenah Heavyweight, Classic Crest Solar White 110 lb, 25 pk

Bazzill Card Shoppe Cardstock, Marshmallow, 10 pk

Essentials by Ellen Clear Stamps, Got Candy? by Julie Ebersole

Essentials by Ellen Designer Dies, Got Candy? by Julie Ebersole

Ranger Archival Ink Pad, Jet Black

Kuretake Gansai Tambi, 36 Color Set

My Favorite Things Die-namics, Peek-a-Boo Trio

My Favorite Things Die-namics, STAX Pinking Edge Circle

Hero Arts Ombre Ink Pad, Gray To Black

Speaking of candy corn:

cardstock:  solar white 110, hero arts sunshine layering papers  stamps:  essentials by ellen/got candy?  ink: hero arts hues/black

Yay for Candy Corn!  I designed a tall/skinny card and stacked the Hero Arts Sunshine Layering Papers strips!  Super easy and Fun!  I did a smidge of masking to get the sentiment to format to the design of the card.

Neenah Cardstock, Neenah Heavyweight, Classic Crest Solar White 110 lb, 25 pk

Hero Arts Layering Paper, Mixed Sunshine

Essentials by Ellen Clear Stamps, Got Candy? by Julie Ebersole

Hero Arts Dye Ink, Black

Next up are a couple cards designed with the New Mistletoe & Holly!  I've already included the graphic of the stamp set above, here are the coordinating dies:

Here's card #1:

cardstock:  solar white/110  paper:  chickaniddy crafts jolly good  stamps:  essentials by ellen/mistletoe & holly  ink:  ranger archival black  other:  essentials by ellen/mistletoe & holly dies, kuretake gansai tambi

We're switching gears to holiday designs!  I'm a huge fan of non-traditional colors and one of my favorites is pink + green!  Keeping the design super clean, I stamped the poinsettia bloom with Ranger Archival black and watercolored it.  I love the vibrant colors that you can achieve with the Gansai Tambi's...I also like to pool the colors to give it a true watercolor look!  Chickaniddy Crafts Jolly Good green is a perfect match.  I can't seem to get enough of stripes!

I followed up with decorating the interior of the card:

cardstock:  solar white/110  paper:  chickaniddy crafts jolly good  stamps:  essentials by ellen/mistletoe & holly  ink:  ranger archival black  other:  essentials by ellen/mistletoe & holly dies, kuretake gansai tambi

Seriously LOVE the sentiment, don't you?!

Neenah Cardstock, Neenah Heavyweight, Classic Crest Solar White 110 lb, 25 pk

Chickaniddy 6x6 Paper Pack, Jolly Good

Essentials by Ellen Clear Stamps, Mistletoe & Holy by Julie Ebersole

Ranger Archival Ink Pad, Jet Black

Essentials by Ellen Designer Dies, Mistletoe & Holly by Julie Ebersole

Kuretake Gansai Tambi, 36 Color Set

Thanks for making it this far!   I wanted to do a repeated stamped background so I used 2 images from the Mistletoe & Holly set:

cardstock:  bazzill licorice twist, hero arts blush mix layering  stamps:  essentials by ellen/mistletoe & holly  ink:  hero arts ombre gray to black/light to red royal  other:  pebbles decorative tape

I used Hero Arts Ombre pads for the background stamping.  I love the subtle ombre effect it gives.  I followed up with some paint splattering.  Love how the Noel POPS!  Can't go wrong with gold glitzy goodness too!

Bazzill Card Shoppe Cardstock, Licorice Twist, 10 pk

Hero Arts Layering Paper, Mixed Blush

Essentials by Ellen Clear Stamps, Mistletoe & Holy by Julie Ebersole

Hero Arts Ombre Ink Pad, Gray To Black

Hero Arts Ombre Ink Pad, Light To Red Royal

Pebbles Jen Hadfield Homemade, Decorative Tape, Glitter and Number

Whew!  That's it for me...I can't tell you how excited I am for this awesome release!  

Happy hoppin’! Your next stop is:  Kimberly Wiener <---- my awesome friend!

• The CLASSroom 
• Lisa Adametz 
• Sandy Allnock 
• Laurel Beard 
• Heather Campbell 
• Darlene DeVries
• Julie Ebersole
• Sharon Harnist 
• Angel Johns 
• Stephanie Klauk
• Amy Kolling
• Emily Leiphart 
• Nichol Magouirk 
• Jennifer McGuire
• Maureen Merritt 
• Kay Miller 
• Carolyn Peeler 
• Julia Stainton 
• Laura Sterckx 
• Amy Tsuruta <-- you are here!
• Kimberly Wiener 
• Carissa Wiley